Our Classic Jurassic Meat-Eater Matchup intensifies this week, because it's Ravens week!
And this week's trench-fighting carnivore is another strong, quick and powerful, if somewhat undersized, three-technique defensive tackle, Nnamdi Madubuike.
Madubuike was born in Dallas to Nigerian parents. From there he attended Texas A&M. The Ravens selected Madubuike with 71st pick in the the 2020 NFL Draft.
Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 305-pounds, Madubuike is an extremely quick pit fighter who plays with excellent technique and, as you might guess, a low pad level.
Madubuike was a 2023 Pro Bowler, and second-team All-Pro. Halfway through his fifth season, Madubuike has posted career totals of 26.5 sacks, including five this season, with 32 tackles for loss.
Madubuike mans the 3-tech, flipping over both guards, and sometimes lining up over the center. He reminds me of the Bengals' 8-time Pro Bowl DT Geno Atkins.
Madubuike is twitchy quick, powerful and has heavy hands. While not ideally suited to trench warfare in terms of his size, he more than makes up for it with power and technique. Able to hold the point against much larger predators, Madubuike finds creases and angles to the ball.
He has natural ability to get off the ball quickly and can shoot a gap with power and speed. He's a "bang-bang" tackler both in traffic and in space (bang he hits the man with the ball, then bang, they hit the ground).
Armed with the capacity to frame his arms in a bull rush while attacking on the pass rush, he will transition quickly to a tight, powerful uppercut to work a third of the pass protector, rather than having to go through middle of the man.
In operation, he attacks on the inside much like the Steelers former great James Harrison, used to attack on the outside- with power and leverage. To that comparison, sometimes Madubuike will line up and rush the passer over the OTs.
The Ravens will rotate two complete defensive line combos throughout the game to keep the pass rush hot and the run defense fresh.
Though Pittsburgh has won seven of the last eight games, each one has been decided by seven points or less. Expect another close, hard-fought game, ultimately decided by who controls the blood sport that is the trenches.
